*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Coca-Cola and DiMe Media and all opinions are my own.     Education has always been extremely important in our family.  From as far back as I could remember, I was encouraged by my parents and my grandparents to put school first and to keep in mind all of the doors that getting an education would open for me in the future.  This inspiration to achieve my goals stayed with me throughout my entire academic career and helped me to secure the necessary scholarships to allow me to pursue my college degrees as an adult.     You see, I knew early on that my family did not have the financial means to pay for my college education.  As a result, I worked very hard to maintain exemplary grades so that I could apply for any kind of financial support that would help me accomplish my goals.  This hard work paid off and it allowed me to attend college and to realize my dream of becoming an educator.     Now that my son is a tween, these are … [Read more...]